AI Tools in Language Learning and Teaching

Hello reader,

This was my last assignment and I was actually very excited at the beginning. It was important for me because it was the final task of the term.

First, I opened a teacher account in MagicSchool.ai and started creating my chatbot there. The tool looked very useful, but I also noticed it could be advanced for some students in Türkiye. I teach 8th graders and in our science unit Nikola Tesla comes up quite often. Thus, I chose him as the character for the chatbot. I thought I could also use it later in my lessons.

In Türkiye, 8th grade students are usually around A2 to B1 level. When I selected 8th grade in MagicSchool, I realised the language and tasks were too difficult for my students. So I decided to choose 2nd grade level instead, just to make the conversation simpler and more understandable.

The conversation itself was quite enjoyable. The chatbot responded in an interesting way, but sometimes it gave errors or unnatural answers. I added these parts into the transcript because I think they are important. These moments could easily confuse students or even make them lose attention because it was a repeating issue.

I also used another tool called Call Annie. There was a chatbot part there too. That one felt more smooth and easier to follow. It was less frustrating and more natural in flow. However, this is true for the historical character part.

In my humble opinion, feedback is very important and we need to filter what we see carefully. Student or teacher should make the last decision on the feendback because I believe that some parts were not beneficial at all.

I strongly believe AI tools should be learned and taught properly. I also supported this idea in my university classes, and my instructor agrees with it. We should not avoid these tools, instead we should learn how to use them in a good and useful way, so they can help us in education rather than confuse us.